Newport News attorney takes ALS ice bucket challenge

Video: Ice Bucket Challenge

A Newport News attorney is among the latest in the area to take the Ice Bucket Challenge, a campaign raising awareness for ALS that has gone viral in recent weeks, including among local law enforcement officials.

A Newport News attorney is among the latest in the area to take the Ice Bucket Challenge, a campaign raising awareness for ALS that has gone viral in recent weeks, including among local law enforcement officials.

A Newport News attorney is among the latest in the area to take the Ice Bucket Challenge, a campaign raising awareness for ALS that has gone viral in recent weeks, including among local law enforcement officials.

Friday afternoon, Phil Hatchett, who works with the firm Kaufman & Canoles, said his office had raised about $1,500 for ALS, short for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“It’s a nasty disease,” said Hatchett, who accepted the challenge from his 29-year-old daughter Rebecca. “To have fun on a serious note is good.”

Hatchett said his grandfather Edward had ALS.

Noa Mataele, a manager at Tucanos Brazilian Grill, which helped put the event together, also took part in the challenge.

Those participating in the challenge post videos of themselves throwing ice or cold water on their heads, and challenging others to do the same or make a donation toward the cause. In many cases, those taking on the challenge also donate money.

Officials with the ALS Association said that the organization has received $9.5 million in donations between July 29 and Friday, compared to just $1.6 million during the same time frame last year.

Earlier in the week, Hampton Police Officer Matt Chapman took the challenge, paying tribute to his late father Richard, who died from the disease in 2011. Chapman challenged the Newport News Police Department, among other departments, with Newport News Police Department Master Police Officer Donald Watt accepting the challenge.

A Civil War-period coat worn by a nurse — a woman from a prominent Mathews County family who some believe was the only woman to be commissioned as a captain in the Confederate Army — is among the nominees for Virginia's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts program.